diff --git a/bookwyrm/settings.py b/bookwyrm/settings.py
index d694e33f..b689a6a2 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/settings.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/settings.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ CELERY_TASK_SERIALIZER = "json"
 CELERY_RESULT_SERIALIZER = "json"
 
 # email
+EMAIL_BACKEND = env("EMAIL_BACKEND", "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend")
 EMAIL_HOST = env("EMAIL_HOST")
 EMAIL_PORT = env("EMAIL_PORT", 587)
 EMAIL_HOST_USER = env("EMAIL_HOST_USER")